Poker made me sober.
-me

I've got a script to take 2 20MG pills a day for ADD. It was intense for a while, but I've gotten used to it and don't crave more. I find it very very helpful. Just don't approach meds like you can take as much as you want.

Clearly sir you have not had Adderall or Cocaine. I take Adderall and have for some time. Was on Ritalin for quite a while, probably 6+ years before the change. Adderall is great if you need it for its intended use. I myself do not understand the fuss is all about as I do not get "high" from taking it whatsoever. That being said, in my lifetime, from 1971 on I have consumed a couple or 350 drugs and coke vs Adderall have zero, big fat zero, in common. And I can't stress that enough. ZERO! I can see where a modest dose could help someone possibly, but since I CAN'T concentrate w/o it (add) I am a poor person to judge how it would potentially affect someone self-medding. Before somebody accuses me of being drugged out from the 60'-70's, I've taken enough to know not to take most of anything anymore and am cognizant of my surroundings.

Anyone who snorts Adderall is a friggin idiot. When I take my 2 pills in the morning I am fine for the day. I can nap, work, or whatever. It doesn't do any of the side effects I hear of to me. And, if I forget to take it, concentration is my only problem. I do not go through withdrawal. Also, there is a big difference between "speed, diet pills(dating myself there), and Adderall, Ritalin, etc. The former DO get you high, the latter, not nearly the same. I am not talking meth, as in Breaking Bad, but speed as it was originally produced legal and otherwise.

Good points all for the people who want it, not need it. If you want it you probably DON'T need it. Take it from someone that does take it for valid reasons. I CAN see where someone may like it but it produces no high in my body or mind. But you got it right on how someone could easily misinterpret its effects on there skill in the relative short term.

You would literally have to be crazy to quit then, right?

Holy crap, guys. It seems like many of you have limited comprehension of drugs, drug classes, drug effects, etc.

It would take too long to go into the specific details but here, let's sum it up:

Modafinil: Eugeroic drug, used to keep you awake and improve cognitive function. How does it do that? By keeping you awake and alert. Aside from this it has almost zero in common with either Adderall or cocaine, except for that it acts at the same site as cocaine but the MOA is different.

Adderall: Pure mixture of amphetamines. Highly addictive, most commonly used to treat ADD. When used by people that do not have an attention disorder it commonly provides a "high" that is generally not seen in those legitimately requiring a prescription. When used at low doses it can be seen to provide an improvement in cognition. When used at high doses can cause a

Cocaine: Not a eugeroic drug, not amphetamine-based, but a central nervous system stimulant. Technically non-narcotic (scheduled as a narcotic but medicinally incorrect label). Dumps dopamine into your brain, limits re-uptake and is generally NOT a cognitive enhancer due to its drawbacks. The only thing this drug has in common with adderall is that it will wake you the **** up. Quickly. Whether you like it or not.

Ritalin: ADHD drug, doesn't provide a "high" so to speak but it can be mood altering. When used in conjunction with amphetamines it can cause a "cognitive enhancement" but again we're talking at low doses.

you sound stupid for coming in with your "education" and talking about "drug classifications" and sounding smart. What is the federal drug classification for cannabis sativa??? Nuff said, the feds are full of **** and not worth referencing.

Thanks!

Schedule one.

Right back atcha, big fellah.

It's used for poker playing because it allows you to be hyper-focus for every decision you need to make. It can be terrible if you don't set up a schedule and figure out a set amount of tournaments, hours of cash, etc. you will be playing before taking the dosage.

People with ADHD tend to be very compulsive people. Compulsive and poker don't blend too well, as we all know. One need to realize going in if you have this problem, taking Adderall and playing might be an issue for you. I don't knock anyone who does it without having ADHD it's not my thing.

Good luck! :-)

FWiW I always thought that needing marijuana for pain relief was bogus. Two reasons:

1. I asked my doctor this question, and he gave me an emphatic answer that marijuana is not more effective than drug already legally available.

2. When medical marijuana became legal, almost overnight marijuana became one of California's biggest cash crops. There aren't that many people in that much pain, except maybe the Hollywood stars dealing with the election results.

3. If it is in fact an effective drug for a legitimate purpose, when not get the FDA to approve it (but see below.)

Actually, there have been attempts to study this, but it's difficult. Since it is federally illegal, it's hard to get money from the federal government to run on study on something illegal, because obviously, you would have to run trials (give it to people) to run that study.

Now it's about to happen. There is a study in the works to start digging into whether in fact marijuana can in some situations be a more effective pain reliever than drugs already approved by the FDA. It will basically be a marijuana vs. hydrocodone study.

Sample size of one. Just as a reminder, someone always finishes last at each medical school.

Probably based on the idea that Marinol is an effective alternative to actual cannibus.

Regardless, smoking pot probably isn't +EV

Touche.

Here is my experience with Attention Deficit Disorder and Adderall:

I was an average student until sixth grade when it got weird. The teachers and the principal didn't know what to do with me.

There were two sixth grade classes. We were divided for a reason into what we called the "smart class" and the "dumb class." I was one of the best students in the dumb class.

At one point they were going to move me to the smart class. I was too scared to compete against all of the smart kids and I asked to stay where I was. Then I changed my mind and decided to go for it--but my teacher said that I should stay where I was. Then they decided to hold me back to repeat sixth grade. That idea was dropped because I would be "too bored." They finally decided to keep me in the dumb class but promote me to Junior High at the end of the school year.

My first marking period in 7th grade I got an E in English, but I got it up to Cs and Ds the rest of the year, did reasonably well in some of my other Jr. High classes that year and the next, and I was off to high school. I got at least one marking period D in both English and Chemistry, but again I muddled through, graduating with a high school GPA of 2.6.

I struggled to graduate from community college, repeating a few classes. I eventually cut back to one class at a time until I finally graduated. I crashed and burned after that, flunking out of two universities with different majors. I always thought that I was smart. Not MENSA material, but certainly above average. It turned out that I was wrong--about not being MENSA material.

One day when I was about 30, MENSA representatives were giving free tests in a local library. There was still that thought in the back of my mind that I was smarter than my grades indicated, so I decided to give it a shot. We had to take two tests and score in the 98th percentile on one of them.

I was and am a confident test-taker, but I was sure that one of the tests didn't go well. I estimated that I got percentile scores were in the 70s. I always estimated myself as about an 80th percentile, my academic meltdowns notwithstanding. After all, when I was eight years old I was reading Issac Asimov novels and discussing them with my father. Something in my head must be working right.

When I got mail from MENSA I was both excited and scared. I was hoping that I was really smart, but at the same time I was scared that I really messed up at least one of the tests and that the numbers were going to be embarrassing.

My percentile scores were 98 and 99.

Now I knew that I really was smart, but I couldn't understand why I had so many issues until, when i was about 30, I was in family therapy. My wife and I were in the process of adopting three badly neglected and abused siblings who came from a foster home to live with us. There were a lot of issues for all five of us to deal with.

During one session one of my soon-to-be children, who sometimes thought that he had every disease that he saw on TV, asked our shrink, "Do I have ADD?" The response was, "No but your father does." It was obvious to him just from observing me in the sessions. My family doctor confirmed that diagnosis.

It took me a couple months to accept that I had a had a learning disability, then a few more months to look back at my life, put all the pieces together and figure out what to do next.

In school I was a great test taker, but I wasn't good with written assignments. I was easily distracted. I couldn't stick to a boring task or stay on task when researching a paper. Whatever the task I would often put it off or try to get it done at the last minute. In one college class I didn't even turn in one of the two required term papers--I just never got it done.

This wasn't just a schoolworK problem. At various stages in my life I was called lazy, a dreamer, scatter-brained and a few other things. My aunt called me "the absent-minded professor." One day in sixth grade I walked home from school during recess because I thought that the school day was over.

As an adult, I would forget to pay bills or to mail something. I went to jail because I forget to pay minor traffic tickets, which led to arrests for DWLS (Driving With License Suspened) One was a fix-it ticket. I took the car in and got the problem fixed but I forgot to have a police officer sign the ticket. Lack of documentation of the fix = voided license and I was down the rabbit hole again.

Now I take my pill, one eight-hour dose a day, and I try to time when I take it so that my tournament play that day will be covered. Soldiers in my Army National Guard unit were walking up to me and saying things like, "you're doing a lot better." Most didn't know about the ADD, they just knew that something had changed, I was more confident and I wasn't a screw-up any more."

My wife and I disagree on why I've changed so much. She think it's mostly the medication. I think it's partly the medication, but mostly because I know what ADD does and I know how to fight it.

When someone tells me something important, I write it down. I always have a pocket notebook. If I have to take something with me, I leave it by the door so I don't forget, or pack a bag the day before.

When I play poker I keep track of everything on a spreadsheet. I track my poker time divided into online and live play and into administrative, study and playing categories, tracked by the quarter-hour. If i'm not spending at least 40 hours a week on poker and/or I'm not devoting at least 25% of my time to studying, the numbers tell me that I need to fix it.

I could go on and on about systems that I have for just about everything from when I do the laundry to how much I work out every day (getting back in shape to run my second marathon). People with ADD sometimes become fanantic list-takers. I keep it as simple as I can but I know that I need the structure.

My systems help a great deal, but my wife is right about how important Adderall is. If I wasn't taking it I probably wouldn't be diligent enough to keep my records up-to-date.

I don't get high. I don't get a buzz. Adderall doesn't give me an advantage at the table. I make sure that I get enough sleep to play a long tournament. If I'm too tired to play well I don't pop a pill, I skip the tournament. I take Adderall as directed, one pill each day. It is simply a drug that I need to take in order lead a normal life, just as Insulin is for a diabetic.